It’s a Mini-Massacre as Plus Plunder Shock Win
Prepare yourselves for a long report. I had all the excuses ready. Injuries, illness, a whole ‘A’ Team unavailable, the youngest ‘A’ Team TSP has ever fielded. But what happened on a sunny day in early June was straight out of a children’s ripping yarn.
Truth be told, with so many stalwarts unavailable, I was hoping for damage-limitation. A 20 point defeat maybe? When the always reliable Dave Brennan and James Howells appeared to be missing and Chantelle turned up looking distinctly unwell, my mood didn’t improve. Worse, a mix up with Karen Marment left the ‘B’s one short. Gloom, gloom.
But the sun came out, and the missing pair arrived. James has yet another pool car – an electric blue Vectra – so sneaking in late with everyone’s gaze averted was understandable. A manager has replaced the callow, carefree youth. Cool Cat has metamorphosed into Dwayne Dibley.
So to the teams. TSP ‘A’ was headed by three 7 year olds, veteran Robyn Marment and debutants Olivia Mitchell and Briony Goddard-Jones, all racing in the under 9 group. Creagle Marment and Fraser Mitchell spearheaded the under 12 challenge, whilst another debut saw fast improving Luke Henry as our lone under 15 racer. Mike Stephens has been looking fast in training and deservedly was given his chance in the top flight, in the under 20s. James Howells, Dave Brennan and an off-colour Chantelle made up the 10.
TSP ‘B’ gave welcome debuts to another trio of under 9s, Jay and Oliver Shaw and Gabriella Anderson, whilst 15 year old Dan Roberts made his first start in the under 20 group. Marginally more experienced 7 year old chatterbox Millie Till was there to entertain her adoring public, and the 9 were completed by Luke Knudsen, Alex Shranz and Kieran Tyrrell (all under 12) and Oliver Andrew in the under 15 group.
This is boom time for Extras! For once oversubscribed, there was an excellent mix of Gloucester, Midlands, Avon, Western Counties and TSP racers. Matteo and Giacomo Foppoli were joined by Scott Johns and Ben Kingsman at under 9, and there was a posse of 5 under 12s, Zoë Connelly, Toby Davenport, Sarah Kingsman, Sam Lee and Carmela Roberts. Older Head Peter Kennell (still under 20) anchored the team.
Western Counties had set the day’s course. A turny top section and finish would provide a fair test, and racers would have to work hard for high speed.
After the morning run, your Manager was in dreamland. Robyn, Briony and morning-star Livvy were simply sensational. When 7 year olds are skiing faster than half of a field of 140 then you are watching something special. Livvy and Robyn laid down blistering runs of sub-15 seconds, Briony just over. What’s more, Livvy did it twice with a quicker second run to propel herself to a precocious first in age group, Robyn 3rd and Briony 6th.
Every week it seems, Creagle and Fraser push the bar a bit higher. They are unrecognisable from the untidy raw racers of 12 months ago. Like their 3 younger counterparts, they are in an amicable battle for superiority and its doing them both a huge amount of good. Fraser edged it today, as they thrashed it out to 2nd and 3rd in age group, 17th and 23rd overall. Top performances.
Luke Henry and Mike Stephens were most under pressure, with least experience against the top-guns of race league. But they were not to be out-done. Luke will have been well pleased with his 9th in group, whilst Mike’s second place, 6th overall was one of the day’s highlights. Neither has skied better for TSP.
James put in a sleepy first run. However, in best management tradition, he and Chris had an impromptu review of his near term objectives and set some revised targets and goals. Some blue-sky racing in his second run brought up second in group, 3rd overall.
Dave and Chantelle were discovering that the under 50s is the new Group of Death. But 7th and 4th in group were good enough returns, Dave showing the agility of a ballerina to skip inside the final gate in his first run.
An excellent return of 171 points for the morning left TSP surprise leaders, 13 points ahead of Midland Bears.
TSP ‘B’ had a pretty solid day. Handicapped as a nine-some, things got worse when star-performer Kieran Tyrrell had a ‘Luxembourg Day’ at this particular song contest – null points! Every racer has a ‘mare sooner or later and Kieran has just had his. He’ll be seething with indignation and slugging it out with the hot shots in the under 12 group next time. But, led by Dan (4th in group), Alex, Millie and Luke, the remainder amassed some good points. Jay’s Sat-Nav was a bit faulty, but he’ll get used to race league soon enough!
All the Extras finished both their runs, quite an accomplishment for a very young team with little experience. Peter Kennell’s 3rd in under 20, 13th overall was superb, and Sarah Kingsman should be proud of 13th in the 27 strong under 12s.
The afternoon duals usually favour bigger racers over smaller ones, TSP ‘A’, ‘B’ and Extras boast some of the tiniest. Oh dear! But there was just a chink of light – Stuart Robinson’s course had a sting in the tail, the final few gates were turny and might catch out the less fleet of foot. An epic performance was to follow.
Briony chewed up and spat out her rivals – 3 wins. James skied out of the box and surpassed his Key Performance Indicators; 3 more. I swear that Fraser and Robyn’s skis were smoking as they snatched 2 apiece, equalled by Dave and Chazzer. Creagle won and tied once and Mike and Luke took a deserved win each. Livvy was inched out 3 times but demonstrated that she is as quick in the duals as in the timed runs. 63 points were piled up, TSP ‘A’s best for a long time.
TSP ‘B’ had a great afternoon too. Sat-Nav restored, Jay took 3 out of three, matched by Gabriella and Oliver Andrew. Dan smashed his way to 2 wins (no half measures with Dan!), whilst Millie, Oliver Shaw and Alex all won once.
Extras’ 55 points was an outstanding haul. Pride of place to Giacomo, Ben, Toby, Sarah and Peter with 2 wins each and Matteo, Scott, Zoë, and Carmela with 1.
All of which meant that TSP ‘A’ won the day on 234 points, its largest for 2 years. That was sufficient to overhaul Midland Bears’ 4 point advantage and put TSP ‘A’ into a 13 point lead after 2 rounds. 101 points for TSP ‘B’ leaves them 8th whilst 104 points sees Extras climbing to 12th spot.
June’s tall poppies are James with 28, Fraser 26, Robyn 25, Briony, Mike and Peter 24, Olivia, Creagle, Chantelle and Dan 23, Dave 21, Luke and Alex 17 and Millie 15. Shock and Awe guys.
Special thanks to Tim Andrew who brought a touch of class to the dual starts, and Brodie who organised ski-spraying and getting the younger racers into the start gate. Of course, Tim replaced Claire Mitchell who had defied all TSP protocols by taking time out to have her highlights done. Word is that Phil and Tim were seen walking hand in hand into the sunset, whilst Claire drove Oliver home.
So, climactic events at Matson. But has anyone noticed that the ‘sprinkler stream’ has changed course too, leaving the grassy bottom a steamy swamp? Some say that global warming and ice melt from the Robin’s Wood glacier are to blame. James swears he’s seen Sock-Eyed Salmon leaping up the flow, harassed by Grizzly Bears, as Wildebeest tramp warily through the shallower parts, ever watchful of crocodiles. Next thing you know, Ray Mears will pitching camp and nibbling the fir cones.
Well who can say? but I do know that on June 7th 2008 the earth moved for TSP ‘A’ as several diminutive Super Heroes flew down the Dendix. Round 3 on July 5th can’t come soon enough.
Chris Gardner
Truth be told, with so many stalwarts unavailable, I was hoping for damage-limitation. A 20 point defeat maybe? When the always reliable Dave Brennan and James Howells appeared to be missing and Chantelle turned up looking distinctly unwell, my mood didn’t improve. Worse, a mix up with Karen Marment left the ‘B’s one short. Gloom, gloom.
But the sun came out, and the missing pair arrived. James has yet another pool car – an electric blue Vectra – so sneaking in late with everyone’s gaze averted was understandable. A manager has replaced the callow, carefree youth. Cool Cat has metamorphosed into Dwayne Dibley.
So to the teams. TSP ‘A’ was headed by three 7 year olds, veteran Robyn Marment and debutants Olivia Mitchell and Briony Goddard-Jones, all racing in the under 9 group. Creagle Marment and Fraser Mitchell spearheaded the under 12 challenge, whilst another debut saw fast improving Luke Henry as our lone under 15 racer. Mike Stephens has been looking fast in training and deservedly was given his chance in the top flight, in the under 20s. James Howells, Dave Brennan and an off-colour Chantelle made up the 10.
TSP ‘B’ gave welcome debuts to another trio of under 9s, Jay and Oliver Shaw and Gabriella Anderson, whilst 15 year old Dan Roberts made his first start in the under 20 group. Marginally more experienced 7 year old chatterbox Millie Till was there to entertain her adoring public, and the 9 were completed by Luke Knudsen, Alex Shranz and Kieran Tyrrell (all under 12) and Oliver Andrew in the under 15 group.
This is boom time for Extras! For once oversubscribed, there was an excellent mix of Gloucester, Midlands, Avon, Western Counties and TSP racers. Matteo and Giacomo Foppoli were joined by Scott Johns and Ben Kingsman at under 9, and there was a posse of 5 under 12s, Zoë Connelly, Toby Davenport, Sarah Kingsman, Sam Lee and Carmela Roberts. Older Head Peter Kennell (still under 20) anchored the team.
Western Counties had set the day’s course. A turny top section and finish would provide a fair test, and racers would have to work hard for high speed.
After the morning run, your Manager was in dreamland. Robyn, Briony and morning-star Livvy were simply sensational. When 7 year olds are skiing faster than half of a field of 140 then you are watching something special. Livvy and Robyn laid down blistering runs of sub-15 seconds, Briony just over. What’s more, Livvy did it twice with a quicker second run to propel herself to a precocious first in age group, Robyn 3rd and Briony 6th.
Every week it seems, Creagle and Fraser push the bar a bit higher. They are unrecognisable from the untidy raw racers of 12 months ago. Like their 3 younger counterparts, they are in an amicable battle for superiority and its doing them both a huge amount of good. Fraser edged it today, as they thrashed it out to 2nd and 3rd in age group, 17th and 23rd overall. Top performances.
Luke Henry and Mike Stephens were most under pressure, with least experience against the top-guns of race league. But they were not to be out-done. Luke will have been well pleased with his 9th in group, whilst Mike’s second place, 6th overall was one of the day’s highlights. Neither has skied better for TSP.
James put in a sleepy first run. However, in best management tradition, he and Chris had an impromptu review of his near term objectives and set some revised targets and goals. Some blue-sky racing in his second run brought up second in group, 3rd overall.
Dave and Chantelle were discovering that the under 50s is the new Group of Death. But 7th and 4th in group were good enough returns, Dave showing the agility of a ballerina to skip inside the final gate in his first run.
An excellent return of 171 points for the morning left TSP surprise leaders, 13 points ahead of Midland Bears.
TSP ‘B’ had a pretty solid day. Handicapped as a nine-some, things got worse when star-performer Kieran Tyrrell had a ‘Luxembourg Day’ at this particular song contest – null points! Every racer has a ‘mare sooner or later and Kieran has just had his. He’ll be seething with indignation and slugging it out with the hot shots in the under 12 group next time. But, led by Dan (4th in group), Alex, Millie and Luke, the remainder amassed some good points. Jay’s Sat-Nav was a bit faulty, but he’ll get used to race league soon enough!
All the Extras finished both their runs, quite an accomplishment for a very young team with little experience. Peter Kennell’s 3rd in under 20, 13th overall was superb, and Sarah Kingsman should be proud of 13th in the 27 strong under 12s.
The afternoon duals usually favour bigger racers over smaller ones, TSP ‘A’, ‘B’ and Extras boast some of the tiniest. Oh dear! But there was just a chink of light – Stuart Robinson’s course had a sting in the tail, the final few gates were turny and might catch out the less fleet of foot. An epic performance was to follow.
Briony chewed up and spat out her rivals – 3 wins. James skied out of the box and surpassed his Key Performance Indicators; 3 more. I swear that Fraser and Robyn’s skis were smoking as they snatched 2 apiece, equalled by Dave and Chazzer. Creagle won and tied once and Mike and Luke took a deserved win each. Livvy was inched out 3 times but demonstrated that she is as quick in the duals as in the timed runs. 63 points were piled up, TSP ‘A’s best for a long time.
TSP ‘B’ had a great afternoon too. Sat-Nav restored, Jay took 3 out of three, matched by Gabriella and Oliver Andrew. Dan smashed his way to 2 wins (no half measures with Dan!), whilst Millie, Oliver Shaw and Alex all won once.
Extras’ 55 points was an outstanding haul. Pride of place to Giacomo, Ben, Toby, Sarah and Peter with 2 wins each and Matteo, Scott, Zoë, and Carmela with 1.
All of which meant that TSP ‘A’ won the day on 234 points, its largest for 2 years. That was sufficient to overhaul Midland Bears’ 4 point advantage and put TSP ‘A’ into a 13 point lead after 2 rounds. 101 points for TSP ‘B’ leaves them 8th whilst 104 points sees Extras climbing to 12th spot.
June’s tall poppies are James with 28, Fraser 26, Robyn 25, Briony, Mike and Peter 24, Olivia, Creagle, Chantelle and Dan 23, Dave 21, Luke and Alex 17 and Millie 15. Shock and Awe guys.
Special thanks to Tim Andrew who brought a touch of class to the dual starts, and Brodie who organised ski-spraying and getting the younger racers into the start gate. Of course, Tim replaced Claire Mitchell who had defied all TSP protocols by taking time out to have her highlights done. Word is that Phil and Tim were seen walking hand in hand into the sunset, whilst Claire drove Oliver home.
So, climactic events at Matson. But has anyone noticed that the ‘sprinkler stream’ has changed course too, leaving the grassy bottom a steamy swamp? Some say that global warming and ice melt from the Robin’s Wood glacier are to blame. James swears he’s seen Sock-Eyed Salmon leaping up the flow, harassed by Grizzly Bears, as Wildebeest tramp warily through the shallower parts, ever watchful of crocodiles. Next thing you know, Ray Mears will pitching camp and nibbling the fir cones.
Well who can say? but I do know that on June 7th 2008 the earth moved for TSP ‘A’ as several diminutive Super Heroes flew down the Dendix. Round 3 on July 5th can’t come soon enough.
Chris Gardner
posted by rorie scott at 10:30 PM
